The contest, based in Great Britain, was started in 1965 and
celebrates the art and technology of capturing images under water —
from the depths of the ocean to “split shots” at the surface, from
open waters to enclosed estuaries, from lakes to even swimming
pools.

I first reported on this contest in
Watching Our Water Ways last year and received such a positive
response from readers that I decided to make it an annual feature
of this blog. The 125 winning entries are shown in an online
Gallery
of the 2019 winners. A series
of videos provides insight from the photographers telling the
stories that surround their winning entries.

Underwater photographers are a unique breed of picture-takers.
They venture into the mysterious depths of the ocean to discover
interesting and unusual things and then capture an image for the
rest of us to see.

Each year, thanks to the international Underwater
Photographer of the Year contest, we can all share in many
adventures by viewing more than 100 artful images of watery
environments. All of the amazing winners and acclaimed finalists,
along with comments from the photographers and judges, can be seen
in the
annual yearbook (PDF 27 mb). In this blog post, I’ll show you
four of my favorite pictures. (You can click to enlarge.)

This stunning photo of clownfish, taken by Canadian Qing Lin
while diving in Indonesia, is titled “Your Home and My Home.” It
shows three clownfish, each with a parasitic isopod in its mouth.
Meanwhile, as many people know, clownfish themselves live in a
symbiotic relationship with the sea anemone. The fish protect the
anemone from small fish that would eat them, while the anemone’s
stinging tentacles protect the clownfish from larger predators.

“One of my favorite fish to photograph is the clown,” wrote
Martin Edge, one of the judges in the competition. “Now, I’ve seen
many individual clowns with this parasite, but never have I seen a
parasite in each of three. Add to this behavior a colorful anemone
lined up across the image. Six eyes all in pin-sharp focus, looking
into the lens of the author. Talk about ‘Peak of the Action’ This
was one of my favorite shots from the entire competition.”